THE TANK.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 24 January 1917, Page 7

THE TANK.

I GERMAN STORY OF ITS USE. “THE DEVIL’S COACHES’."* The following account of the Tanks is sent to the Dusseldorfer General Anneiger by its correspondent on the j West front, Dr. Dammert: When the German outposts crept out of their dug-outs in the mist of the morning of September 16 and i stretched their necks to look for the i English, their blood was chilled in i their veins. Two mysterious monsters were crawling towards them over the craters. Stunned as if an earthquake had burst around them, they all rubbed their eyes, which were fascinatecr by the fabulous creatures. Their imaginations were still excited by the effects of the bombardment. It was no wonder, then, that imagination got the better of these 1 sorely tried men, who knew well en- | ough that the enemy would use every | means to destroy our steel wall of fra- | gile human bodies. These men no longier know what fear is. But here was some devilry which the brain of man had invented, with powerful mechanical forces, a mystery which rooted one to the ground, because the intelligence could not grasp it, a fate before I which one felt helpless. “SUPERNATURAL.” One stared and stared, as if cne had lost the power of one’s limbs. The monsters approached slowly, hobbling, rolling, and rocking, but they approached. Nothing impeded them; a supernatural force seemed to impel them on. Someone in the trenches said: “The devil is coming,” and the I word was passed along the line like ■ wildfire. j Suddenly tongues of flame leaped I out of the armoured sides of the Iron caterpillar. Shells whistled over our heads, and the sound of machineguns filled the air. The mysterious creature had yielded its secret, and the men came back to their senses; their vigour and tenacity returned when the English infantry rolled up in waves behind the “devil’s coaches.” The 13 vehicles of the Motor Machine Gun Corps were landed at Le Havre on August 29. In order not to excite attention they were painted in dull colours and sent to the front by night. Their weight is so great that | a railway wagon collapsed under them. : They were placed at first behind the j field artillery positions, and then ; brought up to the trenches, i On September 16 two of these ari menred cars took part in the English i infantry attacks at Flers. Our machI inc-guns and hand grenades rattled in- | effectively from off their iron hides. | As our communications with the rear I had been cut, our artillery could not ! be called upon to aid ns against the j massed fire of these armoured towers, j They were thus able without difficulty | to wipe out the remnants of the gari rlnons of the advanced shell craters. They then crossed the first German line to the village of Flers, and spent

some time there. After the English infantry had come

up and taken possession of the vil(lage, they continued along the Lignyj Thilioy road. In the meanwhile notice j of their arrival had reached our rear j positions. Well-aimed shots from our | field guns put an end to their victori ions career beyond the village of i Flers. The crews were killed in the j explosion of the petrol; a mechanic, j who happened to be outside at the time, was taken prisoner. The clumsy steel box with sides one inch thick has appeared in a different form between Oombles and Thiepval. It has usually the shape of an egg, which moves on endless chains. In the front the chains jut a little beyond the body to enable the machine to cross trenches and shell holes. The machine is guided by a kind of tail, the wheels of which dig into the sides of the trench and shove it forward with a jerky motion. The armoured car with its crew of one officer and seven men, carries two 6-pounder guns, in turrets stuck on the sides like swallows’ nests. There are also four to eight machine-guns at loopholes which can be closed. It is lit inside by electricity. On good ground it has a maximum speed of five to seven miles, in soft ground torn up by shells torn up by shells at most one to two miles, CARRIER PIGEONS. Tbe engines are motors of 100-h.p. It can Only turn in large curves, and has to avoid the larger craters. Its object is to clear trenches and obstacles, and according to orders discovered it can be used against machine-gun positions, and even, in 'certain circular - stances, against batteries, and it mav advance with or without infantry. They carry ample supplies of munitions, provisions for several days, and a with carrier pigeons.

These movable fortresses, after a brief success, have become a miserable failure. Ag has already been mentioned two of thorn have been destroyed by cur shells at Tiers, The crews perished miserably in. the explosions of the petrol and the ammunition. One was lying in a shell crater before Comblcs, and

another is stuck in the barbed wire, which is contrary to its specifications. In another case a lucky shot with a hand grenade exploded the petrol tank. As soon as we came to know these new machines wo prepared their Bkagcr Rack for the English land fleet. Nevertheless, more of these worms are said to be crawling up. Our artillery is delighted to have such a slow-moving target. Inventive brains have prepared for all cases, and, besides, the autumn mud will prepare a soft burial place for them.